Since the end of the Civil War, private and official use of the Confederate flags, particularly the battle flag, has continued amid philosophical, political, cultural, and racial controversy in the United States. [43], The Army of Northern Virginia battle flag assumed a prominent place post-war when it was adopted as the copyrighted emblem of the United Confederate Veterans. ), and elements of the design by related similar female descendants organizations of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, (U.D.C. Their cantons bore eleven white, 5-pointed stars arranged in a circle. Marschall also designed the Confederate army uniform. "STARS AND BARS" The First Confederate National Flag In addition to the Confederacy's national flags, a wide variety of flags and banners were flown by Southerners during the Civil War. 1st National Confederate Flag for Car - Stars and Bars Double Sided Car Flag $ 24.95 First National Confederate Flag - 7 Star Stars and Bars Cotton 3 x 5 ft. $ 59.95 Confederate 1st National 13 Stars & Bars - License Plate $ 19.95 First National 11 Stars Flag Nylon Embroidered 3 x 5 ft. $ 49.95 According to Museum of the Confederacy Director John Coski, Miles' design was inspired by one of the many "secessionist flags" flown at the South Carolina secession convention in Charleston of December 1860. No seven star Confederate flags survive from these states. NOTE: The 4"x6" size is mounted to a 10" staff with a spear top. Although future official Confederate banners did incorporate its symbolism in the left-hand corner, they instead added a white field that represented purity. On November 28, 1861, Confederate soldiers in General Robert E. Lee's newly reorganized Army of Northern Virginia received the new battle flags in ceremonies at Centreville and Manassas, Virginia, and carried them throughout the Civil War. Gen. Earl Van Dorn adapted a red banner with stars and crescent moon as the battle flag for his command. Buy Today. Realizing that they quickly needed a national banner to represent their sovereignty, the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States set up the Committee on Flag and Seal. Stars and Bars (First National Flag) image by Wayne J. Lovett, 24 June 2001 The flag which first flew over Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, SC in 1861. Similarly the patriotic ladies of the South who prepared most of the company and regimental flags for the military units raised in the Southern states chose whatever proportions and sizes seemed aesthetic. Its meaning has been a taboo for generations in the USA, as many believe it represents 'White Supremacy', pro-racism, slavery and hatred. [19] As early as April 1861, a month after the flag's adoption, some were already criticizing the flag, calling it a "servile imitation" and a "detested parody" of the U.S. Over the years the flag was changed by adding and . Beaureguard for the battle flag then named the Army of the Potomac. Miles' flag and all the flag designs up to that point were rectangular ("oblong") in shape. After taking command of the main Confederate army in the west, Gen. Jos E. Johnson adopted this variation of the Virginia Battle Flag for the Army of Tennessee. Measures: 3 feet by 5 feet FLAG QUALITY AND USES Standard Quality Construction: Super-weave polyester - Our most popular quality level However, when the war started, the Stars and Bars confused the battlefield. The "Stars and Bars" The First Confederate National Flag (1861 - 1863) The Confederate Battle Flag (1861-1865) VII. Judging from the $12.00 price that Ruskell later received for a bunting Confederate 1st national that was 6 feet long on the fly, it is thought that the 43 flags that he delivered in July and August were 4 feet on their hoist by 6 feet on their fly with eleven white, 5-pointed stars arranged in a circle or ellipse. And both South Carolina and Alabama began flying it over their capitols. The second national flag was later adapted as a naval ensign, using a shorter 2:3 aspect ratio than the 1:2 ratio adopted by the Confederate Congress for the national flag. The . . Deliveries began on 18 July 1861 and continued until 7 August. But the battle flag has since been claimed by white supremacists and mythologized by others as an emblem of a rebellious Southern heritage. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. [54][55] A 2020 Quinnipiac poll showed that 55% of Southerners saw the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism, with a similar percentage for Americans as a whole. The first flag was produced in rush, due to the date having already been selected to host an official flag-raising ceremony, W. P. Miles credited the speedy completion of the first "Stars and Bars" flag to "Fair and nimble fingers". From then on, the battle flag grew in its identification with the Confederacy and the South in general. Today, alongside the nations growing acknowledgment of systemic racism and widespread Black Lives Matterprotests, the Confederate flag predictably makes appearances at white supremacist gatherings. Consequently, considerable . [59][60], Drawing in the United Confederate Veterans 1895 Sponsor souvenir album. "[32], Regardless of who truly originated the Stainless Banner's design, whether by heeding Thompson's editorials or Beauregard's letter, the Confederate Congress officially adopted the Stainless Banner on May 1, 1863. First variant of flag proposal by A. Bonand of Savannah, Georgia, Second variant of flag proposal by A. Bonand, Flag proposal submitted by the "Ladies of Charleston", First variant of flag proposal by L. P. Honour of Charleston, South Carolina, L. P. Honour's second variant of First national flag proposal, Confederate First national flag proposal by John Sansom of Alabama, William Porcher Miles' flag proposal, ancestor flag of the Confederate Battle Flag, John G. Gaines' First national flag proposal, Flag proposal by J. M. Jennings of Lowndesboro, Alabama, Flag proposal submitted by an unknown person of Louisville, Kentucky, One of three finalist designs examined by Congress on March 4, 1861, lost out to Stars and Bars, Second of three finalists in the Confederate First national flag competition, Confederate flag proposal by Mrs E. G. Carpenter of Cassville, Georgia, Confederate flag proposal by Thomas H. Hobbs of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Flag proposal by Eugene Wythe Baylor of Louisiana, Flag proposal submitted by "H" of South Carolina, A Confederate flag proposal by Hamilton Coupes that was submitted on February 1, 1861, The Confederate national flag proposal of Mrs Irene Riddle, wife of William T. Riddle of Eutaw, Alabama. This firm, on open market purchases, supplied Confederate 1st national flags to at least seven units in the District of South Carolina between 8 August 1862 and 10 February 1863. [56][57] A YouGov poll in 2020 of more than 34,000 Americans reported that 41% viewed the flag as representing racism, and 34% viewed it as symbolizing southern heritage. [42] The flag's stars represented the number of states in the Confederacy. Modern display of the Confederate battle flag - Wikipedia by the flag committee on March 4,1861. Adopted by the provisional Confederate Congress in February of 1861, this was the first of three national Confederate flags. The Flag Act of 1865, passed by the Confederate congress near the very end of the War, describes the flag in the following language: The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the flag of the Confederate States shall be as follows: The width two-thirds of its length, with the union (now used as the battle flag) to be in width three-fifths of the width of the flag, and so proportioned as to leave the length of the field on the side of the union twice the width of the field below it; to have the ground red and a broad blue saltire thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with mullets or five pointed stars, corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States; the field to be white, except the outer half from the union to be a red bar extending the width of the flag. Robed Ku Klux Klan members watch Black demonstrators march through Okolona, Mississippi, in 1978. Smith, Louisburg", University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "The Declarations of Causes of Seceding States", "Confederate battle flag: Separating the myths from facts", "Letter of Beauregard to Villere, April 24, 1863", "Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag", 37 New Historical Markers for Virginia's Roadways, "2008 Virginia Marker Dedication: Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag", North & South The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society, "Why the Confederate Flag Made a 20th Century Comeback", "Confederate flag removed: A history of the divisive symbol", "Trump keeps fighting a Confederate flag battle many supporters have conceded", "Majority Of Southerners Now View The Confederate Flag As A Racist Symbol, Poll Finds", "What the Confederate flag means in America today", "American Electorate Continues to Favor Leaving Confederate Relics in Place", "National Tracking Poll #2107045 / July 09-12, 2021 / Crosstabulation Results", Active autonomist and secessionist movements, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America&oldid=1142855463, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2023, Articles with incomplete citations from July 2020, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles with style issues from July 2022, Pages using infobox flag with unknown parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015, Articles needing additional references from September 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. national flag consisting of seven white stars on a blue canton with a field of three alternating stripes, two red and one white. Patroitism is Not a Pejorative : This ain't Hell, but you can see it When a mob of armed insurgents flooded the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, they brought an accessory: the Confederate battle flag. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. Efforts to memorialize the Confederate dead also began as soon as the war ended, but they ballooned as white Southerners reclaimed their power after Reconstruction. In the early summer of 1861, the army was renamed the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) commanded by Gen. R.E. In 1961, South Carolina began to fly the Confederate flag over its state house. Add to Plan. This flag proposal was the first variant submitted by William T. Riddle of Eutaw, Alabama. The 12th star represented Missouri. flag. Four flags with nine stars (eight around a center star) emanated from Louisiana but two also were made in Mississippi in the same style. The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. 1st National Confederate Flag 7 Star Stars and Bars Confederate 1st National Cotton Flag 4 x 6 ft. $ 109.95. Return to the Confederate Flags Home Page. Flag of the United States of America | Britannica The result was the square flag sometimes known as the . This particular battle ensign was the only example taken around the world, finally becoming the last Confederate flag lowered in the Civil War; this happened aboard the commerce raider CSS Shenandoah in Liverpool, England, on November 7, 1865. Men fly a massive Confederate flag during a Black Lives Matter protest in Charleston, South Carolina, in August, 2020. This action piqued the interest of other members of the Foundation, reenactment groups and family members. In a Feb. 10 memo to its public affairs offices, the Defense Department said that having service members carry the U.S. flag horizontally or land it on the ground after a parachute jump is no . Besides, many military units had their own regimental flags they would carry into battle. Were most of the flags made in the Confederacy sewn by hand or by sewing machine? In the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally, demand for the banner surged across the country. Unit abbreviations on two of the surviving flags were applied with separately cut and applied red cotton letters. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. The "Sibley Flag", Battle Flag of the Army of New Mexico, commanded by General Henry Hopkins Sibley. The Confederate flag had three bars, red, white, red and a blue field with stars on it. The number of stars was changed several times as well. When the American Civil War broke out, the "Stars and Bars" confused the battlefield at the First Battle of Bull Run because of its similarity to the U.S. (or Union) flag, especially when it was hanging limp on its flagstaff.